TCE: Manaba
''This is a work in progress. Please ignore it until I remove this message. '' The Manaba were a warm-blooded reptilian bipedal species that were native to the planet Ragnora. They never officially joined the Citadel, due to their monarch's belief that being a part of a larger interspecies galactic community would undermine his people's independence. Despite this, he was perfectly willing to send manaban refugees from planets that were taken by the rachni to the Citadel. Manaba believed in the Five Wills, if fulfilled, they believed they were essential for eternal life and happiness. They also followed a caste system; rulers were considered the most noble, while the slaves were called the descendants of the heretics. Biology Manaba are, as previously mentioned, a warm-blooded reptilian race. Their natural planet's atmosphere was basic enough for them to adapt to that of the Citadel. During their first contact with an alien species, this being the brief war with the rachni that preceded the loss of their homeworld, their species as a whole caught a disease that would slowly deteriorate their skin and organs. Only high-class "descendants of the originally redeemed" manaba are provided with the antibiotics to prevent the disease from drastically affecting their bodies. Similarly, manaba that were of the low class or were bound from birth to slavery, were generally stunted in their growth due to malnutrition, and their bodies were thinner and deprived of muscle due to the fact that only high-class manaba were treated with stimulants or given proper training. All of this was justified in their culture, as explained below in the history section. History and Society. It is taught in the manban faith that the beloved ninth Manaban Emperor, Derocrik II, believed that he could ascend to the station of their gods through an elaborate ritual involving sacrifices, but it is said that the gods struck down Derocrik and he was left for dead in his temple. However, his daughter was able to preserve his life, but for a cost. So that he would be saved, Derocrik was forced to swear that, for the rest of his life, he would take the words of his prophetess daughter to heart. The first generation of manaba that worked towards redemption in the eyes of the gods created a precedent for manaban society. As a result, the descendants of the "original redeemers" are members of the high class, provided with proper shelter and nutrition; the lower class, the descendants of those that resisted Derocrik's newfound religion or the "original heretics," are forced to work to earn money, food and shelter. Those are the descendants of the redeemer's servants make up the slave class; the members of each of the three classes remain in their status for their entire lives, without exception. The background of their modern relations with the Council and the rachni will be filled out soon. The Five Wills '''The Five Wills '''were the key of the manaban religion. It was believed by the manaba that after his failed ascension, Derocrik II followed the advice of his daughter, thus allowing him to be offered a chance for his people's redemptions by the goddess Aterdill. This redemption could only be earned by the fufillance of the five wills throughout one's life, which were relayed to manaban people by the prophetess. They were: #Fight for your Gods. Yee who betrayed thee father in war should take arms for he. #Thou shall not kill thee fellow Manabans. Yee who are bound together to stave the Void shall work as brothers to escape damnation. #Thou shall not engage in dishonest activities of theft, adultery, fraud, and bribery. For they only promise damnation to the void. #There is no god above thee father and none you shall worship above. Such is the blasphemy that damned the manaban to redemption. #Remember thee's place none can be more powerful than their father thoughts of such is blasphemy. By following these wills the Manabans believed that they could earn redemption, and in death, they would be rewarded by a life in Solitude, whereas failure to fufill resulted in damnation to the suffering and eternal silence of the Void. Category:Species